Germany Wins Motocross of Nations: UPDATED

For the first time, Germany walked away with the Chamberlain Trophy following the team's triumph at the Motocross of Nations held in the deep sand of the Lommel Circuit in Belgium. In the 66-year history of the Motocross of Nations, Germany has never came away victorious. Until now.

The collective effort by teammates Ken Roczen (2011 MX2 World Champion), Max Nagl and Marcus Schiffer (2012 MX1 German Champion) gave the German team a four-point victory over the runner-up team from Belgium, 25-29. Roczen helped lead the German team to victory with double wins in the MX2 class. Italy's Antonio Cairoli and Holland's Jeffrey Herlings won both the MX1 and Open motos, respectively.

"Our goal was to get on the podium and we had a hard fight with team Belgium, and this is history for us and the whole team," Roczen said. "We will definitely enjoy it next year with the 1-2-3 number plates."

Almost as big as the news of Germany winning for the first time was the United States losing for the first time since 2004, when the race was also held in the sand but in Holland. After struggling in the sand during Saturday's qualifications at Lommel, it was obvious the U.S. team, made up of Ryan Dungey, Blake Baggett and MXoN rookie Justin Barcia, were going to have to rely on consistency if it was going to have any chance of winning for the eighth straight time. Crashes by Dungey, Baggett and a broken wheel on Barcia's Honda (after colliding with another rider), however, prevented that from happening. As a result, the U.S. team will go home, but still proud, with a bronze medal.

Dungey finished out the day with a 7-9, while Baggett went 14-6. Barcia got together with Belgium's Ken De Dycker in his first moto which left his front wheel with a bunch of broken spokes. The wheel finally gave up on the last lap, though he was just able to get into the pits and swap out wheels, preventing a DNF. Barcia finished third in his second moto, giving Team USA its best moto finish of the day.

"Obviously a little bit of disappointment," Dungey said. "You know we come here to win. Third overall is not bad and we did our best. We came over here early to prepare for the sand and it ended up being a good eye-opener for how I can improve. These guys [Europeans] ride it really well and they did good today, so congratulations to Germany and Belgium. I made a few mistakes and you cannot be doing that. I know the next time we come to this track, and if I'm on the team, then I will be more ready."

"We knew these guys were fast," said Baggett who was a member of last year's winning team. "You only have to switch on Youtube to see that those guys are gnarly in the sand."

"It has been a great experience being on Team USA and we have a great team year," said Barcia after his first MXoN experience. "It is very disappointing not to have won. The track was definitely something I have not ridden in my life before. Nothing can compare to this."